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Talk:Vote for Sole Ruler/@comment-4229351-20120327050324
Hi. As you know, I'm Mod, Spike and Celestia. I can confirm DigitShine/Supustar talked to me. That was polite and right of them, because it involves my character highly. However, even that was a courtessy. They didn't neet to. Speaks a lot in favor of the player that they did. What DigitShine is making is an Offer. I'll tell you what I told her--I'm not interested in this particular offer. It's not my thing. There are hundreds of offers made, accepted and rejected every day on TwitterPonies--many I don't even see, because I don't follow everyone (not as a Player Character, that is). So I found a compromise: I'm taking Celestia out of Equestria for the weekend. This way I don't have to play, but I won't be in the way. That's my Acceptance of her offer, and she seemed happy with it. None of this makes her offer, or the roleplay it may or may not engender, "official." There IS no "official." If her Offer and its execution winds up being fun, awesome, entertaining, hilarious, inclusive, amusing, then people will follow it, the characters, the accounts, and participate. If not, it'll get little or no traction and fade away. Probably it'll be something in between, as it sounds fun for many folks, but nothing is a perfect fit for all. The "Assassins" aren't "official." Nothing is "official." The only Canon we have is the show and direct releases from Hasbro, Studio B, or occasional clarifications in the press/blogs by Lauren Faust and or Jason Theissen (and even those might not be canon, it's up in the air). Just because Celestia or Luna or a "Mane 6" get involved doesn't make it official, any more than our ignoring it makes it unofficial. It just is. Yes, we're actual people behind these characters, and we made a decision, together, to keep TwitterPonies as close to the show as possible. But that rule is unenforcable, so it's no rule at all, but a guideline. We break them sometimes, going with something far out from the show. These are not "precedent." There are no floodgates we have to keep closed, or that we have to worry about opening. EVERYTHING is fair game. If it's entertaining/hilarious/skilled, etc., folks will join in, it will become part of our TwitterPonies shared history, and that's as close to a "canon" or "official" as we have. But that should never be held against someone's offer. That shouldn't do anything more or less than the Guidelines: provide a context for how we play. There's a temptation to consider the Mane 6, the Princesses, other key show characters, as "endorsing" an offer by accepting it, acknowledging it by playing along, and so on. That's unfair and sets up a hierarchy. No one's acceptance of an offer is any more valid than anyone's else. So play along if you want. Ignore it if you want. That's the only thing you can do! If you think the offer leads to bad RP, answer it with great RP. I did write about how to do that here. Go do it! Yes. I know it. I know that there's a tremendous "pull" to the Mane 6, to the Princesses, and to other prominent show characters. I know that getting followed by one, or mentioned by one, can do amazing things. That's power, and it's part of our responsibility, those of us entrusted with those accounts, to play as fair as we can. We've chosen to adopt the Guidelines and try to stay close to them as we can. Yes, it also means our personal tastes will shape the RP, to an extent. Of course, if we get out of step with what everyone wants, we'll find ourselves alone. There's as much pressure on us as we can exert. We're also (forgive me) HUMAN, and make mistakes, and get seduced into breaking a guidelines for a laugh, or clinging too tightly to them. Remember the only rule: you can follow, unfollow, ignore or block. That's it! That means you can and must continue to make offers. Hey, you want to build a huge world? You want t make big, grandiose offers that include new cities, new races, changes in magic, changes in government? DO IT. If your idea catches the imagination of enough people, it'll happen. If it's entertaining and fun, it'll happen. The closer you stick to the guidelines with it, the less "hard to swallow" it will be, and more people can come in. That's the only rule. It's not political. It's not personal. And no one is stopping anyone from doing anything. If you feel you have to get a Mane 6 or a Princess to acknowledge your RP, then you're doing this for the wrong reasons: you're doing it to gain followers, or sway the world, or feel your ideas or vindicated, or to be the Dungeon Master, or any one of a dozen reasons except the right one: BECAUSE IT'S FUN. Not just fun for YOU, but fun for all. So own that. Own that mission to be as exciting, interesting, entertaining, hilarious and great as you can. Stop worrying about who can or can't encourage or smother your fun. If you're having fun, no one can do anything about it! And as DigitShine very properly did, if you have a specific vision that involves others, ASK THEM. But understand, they have the right to refuse, but NOT the right to block it. ONE LAST THING: Want to talk forces? If you're concerned that it takes a Princess of a Mane 6 or a show character to make something "official" or canon, and if you're frustrated that you can't get them to sign on or play along that it'll wither, consider the forces that we get every day. Every single day. How many times does @mlp_Twilight have to stamp out books? How many pets does @mlp_Fluttershy have to dispense? How pissed do people get if, when they talk to a pivotal show character, they don't respond? I can tell you, as Celestia, it's overwhelming. To heap upon us the FURTHER responsibility that if we don't endorse, and devote ourselves to playing, every or any offer that comes along, even huge ones that might demand enormous time and effort out of us--well that's just too much. We're nopony's dancing monkeys. We're not here to validate anyone. We're here to have fun. So build your stories, move your world, go as grand as you want. You want a Mane 6 or Princess involved? Ask them, but don't even think about bitching or whining if they decide, "No thanks." And don't pester them with offer after offer until they cave in, because that's abusive and rude. Remember how many offers they get a day. Finally, ask yourself this: if your offer can't possible move forward or get any momentum without a Mane 6 or Princess or prominent show pony playing along, then maybe you need to find another way. Not give up or complain or demand it as your right, but build a following of people who trust you and want to play, BECAUSE YOU'RE RP IS JUST THAT AWESOME. You don't need any endorsement for that. You just need to have fun. --Spike